TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Sovereignty and central government
Also known as: Sheikh al-Islam, mufti
The head of the learned class in the Ottoman state and the highest authority issuing fatwas on religious and legal questions.
The appointment of Molla Fenârî as mufti of Bursa in 1425 is generally regarded as the beginning of the office among the Ottomans. The şeyhülislams issued fatwas on major decisions, from declarations of war to the deposition of a sultan. In the first years of the Republic the office was turned into a Ministry of Religious Affairs and Pious Foundations, which was itself abolished in 1924.
Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “ŞEYHÜLİSLÂM” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.